Moral Effects Of The Civil War

The Civil War was one of the largest and most destructive in the Western world, and one that would determine what kind of nation America would be. It provided a foundation for the equality of African Americans and sparked the beginning of the women’s rights movement as well. This war divided the developing country, destroyed crops, cities, and railroad lines, and claimed 625,000 lives. The Industrial Revolution that occured in the first few decades of the 19th century brought about a machine age economy that relied on wage laborers in the North. At the same time, the Southern states continued to rely on slaves for their farming, economy and cotton production. This created many differences within the United States, relating to culture, economy,
This argument would include the abolitionists movement. For example, James Rhodes, in History of the United States from the Compromise of 1850, placed the greatest emphasis on the moral conflict over slavery. However, it was political circumstances during the Civil War era, such as the election of Abraham Lincoln, and economical opportunities, like territorial expansion westward and industrialization in the north, that sparked one of the bloodiest wars in North America. The shift in America from an agricultural to industrial economy came through the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th century. This change in economy happened much more rapidly in the north than the
Abraham Lincoln told one audience in Chicago in 1859 that, "I think slavery is wrong, morally and politically" and told another audience that America could not be seen "fostering human slavery and proclaiming ourselves, at the same time, the sole friends of human freedom." The reasoning that the institution of slavery was immoral is not debatable. However, the argument that morality caused the Civil War is inaccurate. The Civil War wasn’t fought until after industrialization urbanized the north making a more diverse and factioned country. Some argue that the Second Great Awakening caused people of that time to fight against slavery on a religious standpoint. However, the society of abolitionists in the north started their movement because the northern citizens were committed to keeping western territories open to white labor only. In fact, the Free-Soil Party wanted to keep slavery from expanding into territories because slaves took jobs away from whites. It has been noted that, “Some abolitionists joined the Free Soil Party, but the majority of the party's members were not abolitionists. Some Free Soilers believed that African Americans were inferior to white people. These Free Soilers had no desire to provide African Americans with equal political, economic, and social rights.” In addition, abolitionists in the north were a minority during the Civil War era. While